On 6 February, Smruti Sriram-Blunt, the CEO of Supreme Creations, delivered a talk to final year Business Management BA students as part of their Sustainable Business module about how to run a sustainable business.
The talk was co-organised by Westminster’s Environmental Society and Westminster Business School to help students learn about running a sustainable business.
Supreme Creations is the world’s largest ethical manufacturer of reusable bags, sustainable merchandise and eco packaging. The company have an array of clients, including Nike, London Fashion Week and Tesco, as well as a number of smaller brands who want to project their brand in a sustainable way.
Smruti reflected on her experience as the CEO for sustainable packing company Supreme Creations, and the things that she’s learnt and challenges she has overcome while running a sustainable business. Her lecture, titled '10 Lessons for Running a Sustainable Business', touched on a variety of lessons.
Her lecture highlighted key points such as the challenges of defining what sustainability is. She said that choosing the metric you adopt is important because customers and suppliers alike can confuse terminology, such as recyclable and reusable which can mean very different things but are often misused interchangeably.
She also spoke about a number of other lessons, including communicating your work effectively to all stakeholders and working with your customers rather than talking at them.
Reflecting on the talk, Module Leader Rachel Lander said: “Smruti Sriram’s talk to our students was inspiring and really informative for them. She is an excellent speaker and has real talent for engaging students. The business story is fascinating and her compassionate approach to the business is clearly demonstrated.”
Business student Daniel who attended the talk said: “I’ve modified my business plan and I will no longer be shooting content for my old clients who aren’t sustainable. Looking at the Supreme Creations website and the talk has motivated me so much.”
First year Architecture and Environmental Design student Grace added: “Smruti’s talk provided great insight into the sustainable business industry. Her 10 points of leading a sustainable business helped me realise how complex the matter is.
“Smruti’s business is very conscious in all aspects, and I think it is very important to shine a light on the successful businesses that are able to maintain these sustainable efforts. It is a great opportunity for our generation to be influenced and inspired to take similar actions when heading into the professional world.”
Find out more about the Environmental Society at the University of Westminster.
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